Building a Better BC

[NC Air Hog]

Many of us feel that the gear within the industry has become stagnant when it comes to BC innovation. I can remember the first time I heard about the "elevator handle" that had been developed on some of the Aqualung / Seaquest BC systems. All I could think is that it was a neat idea, but the way it was pitched to me was that it is the next big step in BC technology and soon everybody would copy it. I have noticed that this is not the case. Does anyone remember the wetsuits that were coming out with built in air pockets that would take the place of the BC? That idea never quite took off either. Now it seems that many of the companies are going to a backplate and wing hybrid mix with a BC. How can we build a better system? Should we change it at all?

 

[danvolker]

Fix the tanks so they don't change buoyancy as the end of the dive approaches...
Fix the wetsuit so that it does not change buoyancy....and there is zero need for a BC....I would stop using my wing in an instant.

For the tank....maybe something like what Spermwhales have....They start their dives negative, with all the wax like substance in their huge heads as solid, and negative...as CO2 builds, the wax like substance becomes liquid from the acidity, and they become buoyant...So...Make a tank that has a covering that is 1 pound buoyant while the tank has high psi.....and as the pressure in the tank drops during the next hour, the lower psi will cause a chemical change in the cover of the tank, making it more negative.....so at dive end, the coating/covering has become negative enough for the tank to still net just one pound positive. ( this could be a huge innovation....but I am not sure there is a chemical phase change of a compound that could change buoyancy this much, without the covering being much thicker than we would be willing to go with--as the diameter of the tank is ideal for a al80 or hp120, and I would not want to enlarge this that much....

you can already find high tech fabric suits with a goretex style of insulation and no buoyancy...and you can place an electric heated shirt under this....Thermalution Heated Undersuit -70M (Shortsleeve)

So you can wear one pound of weight, or whatever your body needs to be dead neutral. Now, you don't need no stinking BC

 

[redacted]

Eliminate the bells and whistles. Cut prices by 25%.

 

[tbone1004]

problem with trying to redesign the bp/w is that it was optimized for what it does after decades of trial and error, so other than some slightly different wing shapes, they really haven't changed much. As far as recreational bc's, nothing they have is really worth looking at over a good bp/w setup. You have options of a hard or soft plate, one piece, or deluxe, or transplate style harness, and after that there really isn't anything worth looking at. Prices coming down would be nice, but we have affordable options from DRiS and DGX at well under $400 for a full BP/W setup, so can't argue with that. Deep Sea Supply isn't much higher for American made at just under $500. As someone that has worked on the design and development of some of this stuff, those margins are fair margins, not like the $900 Zeagle Ranger or some other stupidly overpriced pieces of equipment. $400-$500 is what it costs to make something with premium materials, then sell it through an operation. The only thing that will keep prices down is volume, Cave Adventurers, DGX, Dive Right in Scuba, and Northeast Scuba Supply have proven that which is why it's very difficult for other shops to keep up with them. I'd rather see the costco style approach to scuba diving where there's one big shop in each relatively good size area, pool in house, few different instructors, and they all have large online shops setup to keep their prices down, and then have a few of the smaller type shops at various destination sites where they can get the tourist business. I still have no idea how DUSS, Gypsy, Reef and Ridge, CDC, and now Air Hogs survived in Raleigh where there isn't a lot of local diving. DUSS is out of business, Gypsy has the pool so gets a lot from that, Air Hogs is now doing the online thing, but also the PSD thing, but there's no reason for that many in the area. With online shopping as prevalent as it is, you don't need the shops to fight for fair pricing.
That was long winded for the 25% cheaper, sorry.....

For recreational bc's, just trash them all. They are not good at what they do, they are uncomfortable compared to a well fitting harness, they are more costly to the shops to keep as many in their rental fleet, and they just don't work as well. For BP/W's we are constantly looking at better materials to make the wings out of, but other than that, there isn't a whole lot to be done...

 

[raftingtigger]

Don't try to fix what isn't broke. K.I.S.Silly

 

[TSandM]

This thread made me sit down and think about my BC, and whether there is anything about it with which I am dissatisfied and would like to see improved. I really can't think of anything. It's simple, all the parts can be replaced individually, it fits me perfectly, it's comfortable to wear. Would it be nice if it maintained my buoyancy without me having to do anything? Maybe, but I can't think of any way it could do that without making it far more complicated and prone to errors.

It's a mousetrap, and it's hard to improve upon one of those.

 

[Couv]

... It's simple, all the parts can be replaced individually...

Ding, ding, ding. Correct! I might add, if not already understood, including the bladder; and that the individual parts can be replaced by the owner.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

Personally I see divers getting less "wowed" by the "rock'em sock'em jet pack" type of units and placing more value on the quality of the build and design. As a testament to that BP/W and back inflates....once solely the domain of the tech crowd are being perused and bought by recreational divers who only desire to do the shallow, warm stuff. Heck, look at the bump in side mount in just the past 3-4 years. I see the paradigm of diving shifting and I think the manufacturers are doing an amazing job of listening to the divers wants and needs.

 

[ams511]

I do have some suggestions. 1) Because most BP&W divers use a single tank, is using a plate designed for doubles the best solution? I would say no, either a contour plate or a flat plate would probably make more sense. 2) Many divers travel to the dive location. Some BP&W are easy to pack, Halcyon, DSS, DRIS, UDT, come to mind. Others are more difficult to pack Oxycheq, Hollis and some others. What I would envision is a single bladder wing such as the older Apeks to use for tropical diving with a strong outer cover to be used when diving in colder waters. 3) Thought should be given to ease of setting up. DSS's wings have cutouts that make it easy to assemble and disassemble. 4) Make the harness adjustable like the Agir Sherpa, or Halcyon cinche. 5) Do not use a single tank adapter.

 

[tbone1004]

sorry for this post ams

1. DSS plates are designed primarily for single tank use which is why they are flatter. The ridge is necessary whether in singles or doubles, but there's is a bit smaller. Halcyon and Dive Rite still sell most of their plates to doubles divers, though how long that lasts with sidemount coming up I'm not sure.

2. Halcyons and Dive Rites are generally harder to back because they require use of an STA which is a colossal pain to deal with in packing. What makes Oxycheq and Hollis harder to pack? Or are you just discussing the wing? The Dive Rite XT series is still pretty easy to pack flat with the Super Fabric.

3. The whole point of not having an STA is to just leave the rig set up for single tank diving. No need to break it apart even for travel. Unthread the cam bands and put the buckles on the underside of the plate and the whole thing lays pretty flat on its own. If you have an STA, it's just two quick wing nuts and it's in the 3 requisite pieces for packing.

4. no need to have quick adjusts, though DSS does have them. Adjusting BP/W's aside from the crotch strap is very easy provided you don't put slide locks on the back side of the plate. If you leave the slides out, you can adjust them quite easily on land, not quite so easy in the water, but if you loosen them up enough they are pretty easy to tighten underwater. Obviously nothing makes a crotch strap easy to adjust. DSS one is generally just used on the right side to make it easier to get in and out of though, but that's all you should really be using it for anyway.

5. STA's are still the best solution for those that go back and forth regularly between singles and doubles because it doesn't require rethreading of cam bands. During the summer when I'm not cave diving and am on the boats, I leave an STA on my 120's so I can switch my plate between my double 72's and my 120's as needed. With delrin thumb wheels it's super easy, and doesn't require rethreading cam bands. Have a second STA if I'm using a combination of 8" and 7.25" bottles so I don't have to adjust the cam bands. Doesn't happen often, but it happens. Usually the STA's are just on each 120, and instead of having to muck with getting the bands right it's just two thumb wheels, and plate and wing are off, throw it on the other tank, and I'm in and out faster and easier. If you have a dedicated singles rig, then DSS is probably the best system out there, backplate optimized for it, wing optimized for it, and it is priced right in there with Dive Rite, Hollis, etc, and almost half the price of the Halcyons